Page 78 of Booked on a Feeling

He rushed out of the bookstore and headed to his car. He popped open the trunk and threw in his tool belt, blowing out a long breath through his mouth. Leaning against the side of his car, he pulled out his phone. In less than two hours, his future would be decided—fear and anticipation clashed inside him, but hope bloomed… the hope that Lizzy would be a part of it.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Lizzy had hoped that Jack would spend his day off with her, but he’d left earlier in the afternoon with some mumbled excuses about important errands. She’d promptly squashed the disappointment that rose inside her—she had no right to monopolize his time—but she was feeling oddly out of sorts.

Jack had provided a nice distraction to keep her from mulling over what the hell she wanted to do with her life. She’d mostly daydreamed about being close to him and avoided thinking about tendering her resignation at her firm and finding herself a new position somewhere near Weldon. The logistics were a nightmare—uprooting her whole life and career goal to move to a small town—but the big-city life had left her lonely and empty.

Everything moved so quickly in Los Angeles that she hadn’t had time to pause and figure out if she was happy with where her life was going. It was only when she slowed down that she realized everything wasn’t perfect—far from it. Well, it was time to build a life she was happy with.

She wasn’t sure how Jack would react to her announcementthat she intended to move to Weldon, but she felt hopeful that he would be happy about it. They had something special, and while they hadn’t talked about the future, being close to each other felt right. She couldn’t imagine having a long-distance relationship with him—only seeing him once or twice a month. She rubbed her chest with the heel of her palm. The thought of not seeing him every day hurt.

“I’m glad we went with the white curtains,” Shannon said, coming over to stand beside her. “It looks so clean and crisp.”

“It’s perfect.” Lizzy glanced around the store, filled with pride at what they had accomplished in such a short time.

Sparrow was now a welcoming haven with a seating area in the center of the store with reading nooks and bookish goodies in every corner. It had become a place where she would love to idle away her weekend, just like she had at Hideaway Bookstore.

“I’m dying for a cup of tea. Would you like some tea? I’ll get you a cup of tea.” Shannon hurried to the back room before Lizzy could say anything.

She was hoping to call it a day. She had some important decisions to make, and she wanted time to think things through. But that would have to wait for a bit. She was having tea with her dear friend.

They ended up talking until long after their cups were empty. Lizzy only left the store when her stomach was growling too loudly for them to continue their conversation. As she made her way to the back of the building, she went through the contents of her refrigerator in her head. Eggs, milk, butter, and cheese—breakfast items, basically. She’d gotten into the habit of making Jack breakfast. She enjoyed doing something for him—even something as simple as making him some scrambled eggs. And it warmed her heart when he cleaned his plate, wearing a huge-ass smile on his face.

A forlorn sigh escaped her. She missed him. He hadn’t told her if he was coming over tonight. She could survive one night without him. She had a lot of thinking and planning to do. But the thing was, she didn’t want to survive the night without him. She was going to ask him over. She didn’t care about appearing needy or clingy. Besides, Jack would never think that of her. She was in love with the man, and she wanted him in her bed tonight.

She unlocked the door and stepped into her apartment. She noticed several things at once. A delicious, mouthwatering scent assailed her. There were candles flickering on the table. And Jack was wearing an apron. She continued to stand glued to the spot, holding on to the door handle.

“Welcome home, honey,” he said with a crooked grin.

“Nice apron.” She meant to sink a dose of sarcasm into her words, but instead, her voice came out breathy with awe. How a man wearing a frilly yellow apron with red polka dots could look so frigging hot was a mystery.

“Oh, this old thing?” He reached behind him to loosen the knot and pulled the apron over his head. It was like a striptease. He wore a navy polo shirt underneath that clung ever so slightly to his sculpted pecs and showed off his biceps beautifully.

God, she was so turned on. Had she always been this weird? It was her turn to say something, but she had nothing. She just stared at the man in front of her like she wanted to devour him.

Jack raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on being ogled like a piece of meat. “You’re a bit early, but dinner is almost ready.”

“Dinner?” she managed to say.

He gently unwrapped her fingers from the door handle and closed the door behind her. “Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll pour you some beer.”

“Did you make me dinner?” All evidence pointed toward the fact, but Jack couldn’t cook.

“I did.” He took out a growler from the fridge and poured her a glass of amber-colored beer. “The plan was to make you aromanticdinner, but it didn’t quite work out that way.”

“Thisisromantic, Jack.” Her pounding heart was proof of how romantic she thought he was being.

“I didn’t want to risk setting fire to the bookstore, so I had to cook something I could throw together in an Instant Pot.” He blushed adorably, and she didn’t think she could love him any more than she did at that moment. “So instead of fancy pasta and wine, you get turkey chili and beer.”

“Chili and beer should be the new gold standard for a romantic dinner,” she said with a firm nod.

Jack laughed and leaned down to kiss her soundly on her lips. “Well, I am kind of proud of this part.”

He brought a platter of small bowls and placed it on the center of the table.

“Ooh, fixings,” she said, rubbing her hands together.

“That’s right. We have sour cream, cheddar cheese, scallions, and”—he wiggled his eyebrows—“crushed Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.”

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